A prospective cause of death classification system for maternal deaths in low and middle-income countries: Results from the global network maternal newborn health registry
Document Type
Article
Department
Community Health Sciences
Abstract
Objective: To describe the causes of maternal death in a population-based cohort in six low- and middle-income countries using a standardised, hierarchical, algorithmic cause of death (COD) methodology.
Design: A population-based, prospective observational study.
Setting: Seven sites in six low- to middle-income countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guatemala, India (two sites), Kenya, Pakistan and Zambia.
Population: All deaths among pregnant women resident in the study sites from 2014 to December 2016.
Methods: For women who died, we used a standardised questionnaire to collect clinical data regarding maternal conditions present during pregnancy and delivery. These data were analysed using a computer-based algorithm to assign cause of maternal death based on the International Classification of Disease-Maternal Mortality system (trauma, termination of pregnancy-related, eclampsia, haemorrhage, pregnancy-related infection and medical conditions). We also compared the COD results to healthcare-provider-assigned maternal COD.
Main outcome measures: Assigned causes of maternal mortality.
Results: Among 158 205 women, there were 221 maternal deaths. The most common algorithm-assigned maternal COD were obstetric haemorrhage (38.6%), pregnancy-related infection (26.4%) and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (18.2%). Agreement between algorithm-assigned COD and COD assigned by healthcare providers ranged from 75% for haemorrhage to 25% for medical causes coincident to pregnancy.
Conclusions: The major maternal COD in the Global Network sites were haemorrhage, pregnancy-related infection and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. This system could allow public health programmes in low- and middle-income countries to generate transparent and comparable data for maternal COD across time or regions.
Publication (Name of Journal)
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
DOI
10.1111/1471-0528.15011
Recommended Citation
Pasha, O.,
McClure, E. M.,
Saleem, S.,
Tikmani, S. S.,
Lokangaka, A.,
Tshefu, A.,
Bose, C. L.,
Bauserman, M.,
Mwenechanya, M.,
Chomba, E.
(2018). A prospective cause of death classification system for maternal deaths in low and middle-income countries: Results from the global network maternal newborn health registry. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 125(9), 1137-1143.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_chs_chs/359
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.